THE WEATHER
EAIN TO-NIGHT
AND TO-MORROvV
Report. Page •
n®T*?. L i I s s " ED VOL. 77—NO. 51
BRIDGE IN
CANADA IS
WRECKED;
A GERMAN
ARRESTED
Span of Viaduct Over
St. Croix River at
Maine Border Shat
tered by Dynamite
THE SUSPECT IS
SOON IN CUSTODY
Police Say Man Arrested for Deed Ad
mits He Is Officer in Service of
Germany and That He Exploded
Dynamite Cap at Bridge
By Associated Press,
Vanceboro, Me., Feb. 2.—An attempt
to destroy the railroad bridge spanning
the St. Croix river, which forms the
international boundary line between
Eastern Maine and New Brunswick,
was made early to day. One of the
the three spans of the structure was
blown up by dynamite.
The attack on the bridge caused
great excitement 01 the N nv Brunswick
side, where runu - _ "Serman plo*
spread rapidly and r -siuted in au im
mediate investigs "by the pro
vincial authorities.
Man Arrested for Crime
Inquiry was also -begun on this side
and this led to the arrest alt a local
liotel of a man who gave his name as j
"VVerrenerVan Horn. According to the po [
lire the prisoner said he was an officer I
in the service of Germany, but refused I
to divulge his rank. The police assert
that he admitted he exploded the dyna
mite under a section of bridge and that
a dynamite cap and a plan of the
bridge were found in his pockets.
Von Horn, according to 'the police, de
scribed himself as ii~ years old. He is
iiv t > feet eleven inches in height and
■weighs about 200 pounds. He is
smooth shaven.
The arrest was made by Deputy
Sheriff lioss, who was accompanied by
a .Maino Central detective and two
Canadian officers from McAdam junc
tion, N. B. He was removed to the
United States immigration rooms where
he was closely guarded.
Carried German Flag in Pocket
W hen taken into custody at his room |
in the hotel, Van Horn made no resist- I
nnce, but is alleged to have told the of
ficers the circumstances of the dynamit
ing. He seemed unable to speak very
good English. No papers were found to
identify him. In a coat pocket he car
ried a German flag. Asked why lie had
dynamited the bridge, the prisoner,
the polico say, made the simple expla
nation that his country was at war J
with Great Britain and that Canada j
was a part of the enemy's country. He j
said, according to the officers, that he i
came from Now York, having left that i
city on Friday night and arrived here
Saturday. Immediately after discharg
ing the explosive, he returned to the
hotel. As evidence of his experience,
lie displayed a frost-bitten thumb. His
clothing had been entrusted with ice
and wan soaked through.
Bridge Connecting Link
The bridge is the connecting link be
tween the Maine Central and the
Canadian Pacific tracks, the Canadian
Pacific having traffic rights over the
former road from Mattawamkeage to
the boundary. Thiß is the through route
from Upper and Western Canada to
the maritime provinces, directly con
necting Montreal with the ports of St.
.Johns and Halifax.
War Shipments Passed Over Bridge
In tho winter season St. Johns, N.
8., is the principal eastern port of
Canada and thither have conic from
Montreal and further west great quan
tities of provisions and other munitions
of war for shipment to England and <
France. The shipments have passed
over the bridge which it was sought to '
Continued on Fourth Page,
w ' ■
Oil |€ Star- Snfrcpcn&avt
BRITAIN NOTIFIES U. S.
FOODSTUFFS FOR FORMER'S
ENEMIES ARECONTRABAND
j Washington, Feb. 2. —Oreat Britain
j notified the United States to-day, al
though not in official form, that fo>od-
I stuffs of any kind destined for Ger
many, Austria and Turkey would: be re
j garded as contraband of war. The ac
• I tion of the British government is
j based upon the recent German decree
wheretby that government will ta-ke
j over aJI grain in Germany for common
l use.
I Because the steamer Wilihelimina
j sailed from New York for Bremen be
j fore the issuance of 'the decree it is un
derstood that her cargo of food for
German civilians will be paid for and
appropriated by the British government
and the ship allowed to go free.
" But, hereafter, food-laden ships sail
ing from the United States directly for
German ports or for neutral ports in
Europe where it appears that the cargo
may ultimately reach Germany, will be
subject to seizure outright, shiip and
cargo, without compensation.
The State Department now is consid
ering this latest announcement of the
British government but so far has not
. committed itself to its approval.
AGREE ON BEIDLEMAN FOR
PRESIDENT PRO. TEMPORE
Majority of the Republican Senators
Pledge Themselves to Vote for the
Dauphin County Man for That Im
portant Post in Next Session
Senator E. E. Beidleman, of Harris
burg, representing the Dauphin Sen
atorial district, has been agreed upon tj
be made the next President pro tern,
of the Senate.
It is customary among the older Re
publican Senators at the beginning of aj
legislative session to fix upon one of!
their number to preside at tho next!
session as President pro tem. in the ab-'
sence of the Lieutenant Governor and I
| to perform certain other functions per-1
j taining to the office, and, it was learned I
I this morning, the choice at this session
I has fallen upon Senator Beidleman. Ho
J will be selected by the Republican eau
j cus at the close of the present session,
and, in the event of his re-election to
j the Senate in 1916, he will be the
SENATOR E. E. BEIDLEMAN
| choice for President pro tem. for the
entire session of 1917.
Senator Crow, one of the oldest Re
publican Senators, who is also chairman
of the Republican State Committee, has
had charge of the paper to obtain sig
natures in support of Senator lioid.e
man for this important position, and ! (
to-day had the signatures of thirty Re
publican Senators to the pledge to vote ]
for the Dauphin man. At it only re- .
quires but twenty-six to elect, Senator !
Beidleman will be certain of election. 1
j Senator Beidleman is native Harris- s
| burger, bom in 1873. He studied law
with the present Judge Samuel J. M. | 1
| McCarrell and was admitted to the bar j r
in 1898. He was a member of the' i
House of Representatives in 1905 and j
1907, serving on a number of impor- j
tout committees, and in 1912 was elect-! j.
Ed Senator, serving in tho Senate of |
1913. He is now serving his second j '
session, but will be a candidate for re- t.
election in 1916.
Dauphin county's last President pro 1
tem. was Senator McCarrell, who pre- s
sided in 1597.
8
ALL FAVOR SUFFRAGE BILL •
s
Members of Judiciary General Commit- '
tee Decide Unanimously to Report "
It Favorably To-night [
The joint resolution proposing an
amendment to the constitution giving
the right of suffrage to women, was
taken up by the Judiciary General com- c
mittee of the House this afternoon for "
consideration. No one was present to
speak for or against it, and the commit-
tee unanimously decided to report it F
favorably to the House to-night. si
It will pass first reading to morrow "
morning; second reading on Monday '
next, and finally by the House at next S
Tuesday's session. n
The resolution will then go to tho u
Senate where the disposition is to pass tl
it and get it out of the way as soon as si
possible. P
HARRISBURG, PA., TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1915 12 PAGES.
OPENS WAY
FOR A FREE
BRIDGE HERE
Senator McConnell In
troduces Bill Which
Would Let State Buy
a River Viaduct
HE EXPLAINS
THE PROCESS
Says Measure Permits State to Acquire
One of the Structures Connecting
Dauphin and Cumberland Counties
—State Intended to Abolish Tolls
Special interest is taken here and in
Cumberland and the other cross-river
counties whose people have to use cither
of the toll bridges into or out of this
city, in the bill introduced in the Sen
ate last night by Senator MeConnell,
of Northumberland county, which pro
vides a method by which tolls may be
abolished on bridges more than 2,000
| feet long.
The introduction of the McConnell
bill recalled the fact that when the
: State authorized the construction of the
j firs bridge occupying the site of the
present Market street bride, it was the
! State's intention that it be made a free
| bridge, and it revived interest in the
i project of giving this community a free
i river bridge.
Senator McConnell's measure for tho
abolition of tolls on lonig bridges pro
vides that the State shall pay for dam
ages after a board of viewers has been
appointed by the Dauphin county court,
and, in effect, provides that the State
can buy such bridges. If a bridge con
nects two counties, 20 or more resi
dents ami taxpayers of each shall file a
j petition expressing the desire for a
I free bridge and setting forth that tho
j tolls are burdensome.
If two bridges are within a quarter
mile of ea<-h other, no purchase of one
can be made unless the assent of the'
stockholders of the remaining bridge i
be first ha«l at a meeting specially 1
callecj. J
Bill Could Apply Here
When asked to-day whether his bill,
if it beeaine a law, could be made to
apply to the river bridges from Har
ris,burg, Senator McConnell said that
his measure is of a general charact'f
and applies to all toll bridges, 2,000
or more feet long, where there is not a
bridge within a quarter of a mile of
them.
"If you have no free bridge between
Dauphin ami Cumberland county," said
Senator McConnell, "this bill would ap
ply to the present bridges, but only tij
one of them, for, after the one is made j
Continued on fourth I'ujtr.
WHEAT REACHES $1.65 MARK
First Sales at Chicago To-day Show a
Jump of Nearly Four
Cents a Bushol
By Associated l'ress.
■Chicago, Feb. 2.—Wheat raced up- j
ward in price to-day, the first sales j
showing a jump of as much as 3% a !
bushel. The May delivery touched j
$1.60 '/s-
Extraordinary rises in quotations at i
Liverpool excited wheat traders here. |
C. 'H. Canby, president of the Chicago j
Board of Trade, said the Liverpool j
prices wore probably due to an advance
in war risk insurance and to fear that
submarine attacks would hinder the ar- |
rival of British supplies and make sihip- !
merits from other countries to Great j
Britain more difficult.
On a second strong swell the mar
ket swept upward in the last hour to
$1.65 for May, a gain of 9% cents a
bushel compared with last night.
Transactions in the May option became
so hazardous that the bulk of trading
shifted to the July delivery.
I'rgeney of export demand overruled
every other influence. It was said that
sales to the Italian government alone
in the last 24 hours amounted to 1,-
000,000 bushels.
USE OF CORN MEAL SUGGESTED
Advice of Mrs. Heath in Threatened
Rise in Price of Bread
New York, Feb. 2.—There has been
considerable formal discussion here
among bakers for some days past re
garding the advisability of 'raising the
price of bread as a result of dearer
wheat and flour. Leading bakers in
statements given to the press to-day
say that a rise in the price of the ordi
nary five-cent loaf of white and rye
bread to six cents is inevitable.
Mrs. Julian Heath, president of the
Housewives' League, advises that the
average housewife, in view of the sit
uation, would do well to learn more of
the use of cornmeal, the price of which
»he says, haj not gone up to any ap
preciable extent.
WIFE TARGET'2H
YEARS. SHE SAYS
Mrs. Lila Johnson Tells
the Court Her Hus
band Frequently
Threatened Her Life
STORMY SCENES
IN THEIR HOME
Woman Declares She Was Blamed When
the Weather Was Warm—Asserts
Spouse Once Tore the Chandelier
From the Ceiling in the Parlor
I • Declaring that domestic felicity pre
: \ ai'led in lict home in but two of the
I twenty-two years of her married life,
| Mrs. L,ila Johnson, in her suit for legal
! separation at a continued session of
divorce court this morning, told Judge
| Knnkel that she frequently was made
i tlie target for missiles thrown by her
I husband aud that many times she c»-
j i'aped by a hair's breadth of being
j killed 'by him.
The Johnsons have not been living
| together since May 29, 1914, the day
the wife declares >jhe was driven from
| the house under threat of being killed,
I but she charged that Johnson several
j times since then attacked her both on
the street and at her home,
j On the day of the separation Mrs.
j Johnson said her husband fought with
i her, saying she was tho cause of the
i weather being warm, and before the
J neighbors took a hand, she said, he had
; torn the parlor chandelier from its
| fastenings, thrown the coffee pot, con
taining boiling coffee, on the floor, aud
j struck her several times,
j He once refused to permit a phy
j sician to enter the house when his
! wife was suffering with tonsilitis, she
: said, and choked lict when she made an
I effort to get medicine from a druggirt.
j liho wife said that when neighbors
learned h'e had destroyed a communion
service he accused his wife of spread
ing the story.
"Until I proved to him that I had
not told any person about it, he held
a shovel at my head anil threatened to
j crash out my brains," sihe added.
Telephone as a Weapon
j Subsequently, Mrs. Johnson said, her
. husband pulled the telephone from its
wall fasteningß and 4 »would have
i struck me with it had not friends,
who were visiting us, interfered."
George Pasaic, Shanois street, who
Continued on Fourth I'hkp
DR. MUDGE IMED IN FALL
Pastor of Pine Street Church Fractures
CoUar Bone on His Way to At
tend Services
j Tho Rev, l>r. Lewis Mudge, pias
j tor of the Pine street Presbyterian
j church, suffered a fracture of his right
collar bone in a fall last evening on an
j icy sidewalk while on his way from his
! home, 315 Xorth Front street, to the
! church at Third and Pine streets.
He was treated at his home but this
| morning went to the Harrisburg hos
ipital when an X-ray examination was
j made of the injury, determining thiat
| tho bone was fractured. He suffered
| no other injury and is able to be about
| this morning and it is believed he will
i be able to carry on the activities of the
| church as usual although it will take
j some weeks before he will fully recover, j
JUDGE WITJIEK IS STRICKEN
His Illness Causes Postponement of Ar
gument Court Here To-day
United States argument court, which
was scheduled to be held this afternoon
in the Federal building, was postponed
because of the serious illness of Judge
Charles B. Witmer, of Sun bury. A
telegram from his secretary said that
he was taken ill this morning with a
heavy cold, and was forbidden by his
physician to leave his bed.
Naturalization court will be held to
morrow as scheduled. Judge Oliver B.
Dickinson, of the Eastern district, will
preside. There will be soventy-eight
cases heard.
FINDS 100 POUNDS OF BRASS
Cop Recovers Loot Stolen From Abram
son Yards
While making his rounds this morn
ing at 6 o'clock, Policeman Romich
came upon 400 pounds of brass on a
small sled in the Hcrr street subwav
and hauled it to police headquarters.
It was not long until it was discov
ered that the junk yards of Isadore
Abramson. 1107 North Seventh street,
had been entered and tho brass stolen.'
Efforts to capture the thief have thus
far proven futile.
PICTURES OF OLD CAPITOL
Eighteen years ago to-day, on
February 2, 1807, occurred the mem
orable fire which destroyed the pic
turesque old capitol building in thia
city. The Star-Independent still has
left a few of the 1015 calendars
containing a picture of the historical
structure,—a building of beautiful
colonial lines, —which it will dis
pose of to persons desiring to possess
one of these pictures for its historic
and artistic value. The price is ten
cents or fifteen cents packed in form
convenient for mailing.
GOT BA CK PICTURE OF HER BA CK
MAN WMS ACCUSED OF S TEALING
iHHiiwlii
Cleveland, Ohio, P'eb. 2. —Duo to the
efforts of the police prosecutor of this
city, a youth was compelled to bring
back a picture of a back, and one young
lady, Miss Edna Tyler, is duly happy.
The young man in question was accused
of having stolen her picture, and her
WILSON HAS
HOPES FOR
THESHIPBm
Seeks Basis to Make
Measure Agreeable
to Progressive Mem
bers of the Senate
AIMS TO FILL THE
DEMOCRATIC GAP
———
Sudden Deflection of Nine Senators of
the Majority Party Yesterday
Threw the Measure Into the Shadow
of Defeat
By Associatrd Prc.it.
Washington, Feb. 2.—While the ad
! ministration Senate Democrats cau
cused to-day to reorganize their shat
tered lines and renew the fight for the
ship bill, President Wilson conferred
| with Progressive Republican Senators
i at the White House, seeking a basis to
i make the bill agreeable to enough of
| that wing and fill the gap caused by the
sudden deflection of nine Democratic
votes in yesterday's sensation coup,
when the anti-admiuistration Senators
threw the measure into the shadow of
defeat.
One of the strong possibilities of a
basis of compromise was that a dec
laration of principle might be incor
porated in the bill, saying the govern
ment intended to buy no ships which
would involve controversies with the
Contlaued on Fourth Page
FLAN FOR SIX-FOOT WALK
It Will Be Constructed In Second Street
South of the Subway
Through an agreement with the 1
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which j
now is constructing two subways under j
Mulberry street, ono at Second and one |
at Front, and which company also has !
begun work incident to the erection of I
a freight warehouse on Second street
and south of Mulberry, Highway' Co
mmissioner Lynch ha* made a plan for
providing a six-foot sidewalk along
the eastside of the South Second street
retaining wall, the walk to extend 477
feet southward from a point 155 feet
south of Mulberry street.
An ordinance providing for the side
walk, which is to be six inches above
the street grade, vfcas introduced by Mr.'
Lynch at the meeting of the Commis
sioners to-day and passed first reading.
It will be considered further at the
meeting one week hence. When the rail
road company presented its original
plans for the subway and the ware
house, more than a .year ago, it object
ed to this sidewalk plan, but the objec
tion was withdrawn when Lynch point
ed out the possible danger to pedes
trians because of the heavy traffic.
j objection to his having it was that she
1 was so carelessly draped by the plio
t tographer. Tne picture herewith shows
I a perfectly moulded back and was the
I cause of the trouble, but with its re
j turn Miss Tyier is pleased and the
I young goes unmolested.
M BRIDGE AT
WHSIREET
City Commissioners
Take First Step To
ward Building Via
duct Over Railroad
THE ORDINANCE
GOES IN TO-DA^
It Provides Merely for Opening Thor
oughfare to Tenth Street But It Is
Proposed to ASK Voters to Authorize
Loan for Construction of Bridge
What City Commissioners sav 'l3 the
first move in a plan to open anil bridge
Walnut street, across the tracks of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, was taken at
their regular meeting this afternoon
when Harry P. Bowman, Commissioner
of I'lilblit' Safety, introduced an ordi
| nance providing for the opening of Wal
nut street from a point 400 feet east
j of Cowden street to Tenth street.
The measure was passed 011 first
I reading and was laid over for print
| ing, second reacting and final p-assnge.
I The cost of the bridge, plans for which
j soon are to be prepared, will be paid
out of a loan which the voters will be
j asked to approve next November.
The amount of this loa.ii has not been
i fixed or ascertained, but the Commis
sioners say it will be less than the
j $300,000 loan by which the Mulberry
street viaduct was built.
The opening anil bridging of Walnut
street, across the Pennsylvania Kail
road, it now is conceded, can, within
the next voar or two, be effected at a
cost much less than if the plan haul
been attempted years ago, due princi
pally to the wiping out of many Biglvfch
ward houses for the extension of Capi
tol park. Thut removes the possibility
of many property owners making claims
for consequential damages.
The fact that experts have said the
undernames of the present Mulberry
street viaduct fast are deteriorating,
due to engine smoke, prompts the sug
gestion among city officials that the
proposed Walnut street bridge s>hould
foe a steel structure, encased in con
crete. However, 110 such plans have
been decided upon definitely. In fact
the Commissioners now are dealing
principally with getting the prelimi
naries in shape rather than concerning
themselves with tihe uration cf the
type of bridge.
Wilson Talks About Peace in Europe
Washington, Feb. 2.—President Wil
son said to-day that, while he saw noth
ing definite toward the making of peace j
in Kuropc at this time, there was a'
strong growing hope anil sentiment for
pence all over the world. The Presi
dent was asked if there was anything
definite in sight. He replied he was
sorry to say there was not.
Seized :),00<),<M>0 Tons of Grain
Rotterdam, Feb. 2, Via London,
10.J5 A. M. —The ''Couraut'' learns
that the German War Grain Company,
an organization the purpose of which
is to acquire all the available grain in
Germany and store it until next May,
has seized over 3,000,000 tons of
grain. The paper says that none of
this foodstuff would bo disposed of
by next summer.
POSTSCRIPT
PKICE, ONE GENT.
RUSSIANS IN
ROUT CLOSE
TO WARSAW
I
Compelled to Retire to
the Second Line of
Trenches. Admits
Petrograd Statement
i GERMAN ATTACK
IS VERY VIOLENT
!
| Renewal of Fierce Offensive by the
Kaiser's Troops in the Region of
| Sochaczow and Bolimovo Routs
| Czar's Forces
Petrograd, Fete. 2. — Renewal of .1
i fierce offensive l>v the Germans in the
region of Sochaczow and Bolimovo on
tho road to Warsaw is admitted in an
official statement here to-day. The vio
lence of the German attack, the state
ment says, compelled some of the Rus
sian units to retire to the second line
of trenches. The communication was as
follows:
"On the right, bank of the lower
, Vistula on January 31 our cavalry
j made a sudden and successful assault
, upon the German line along the front
I between Brezen and Lake Orezelcjo, 10
miles north of Sierpec, capturing many
officers and soldiers.
"The attempt of the Germans 011 the
30th to open an offensive movement in
the direction of Lipno and Dobrzyn,
supported by artillery fire, was
checked.
Germans Abandon Many Dead
"On the left bank of the Vistula
'front at the villages of Makow and
IDyblin the enemy was thrown back to
tho liue of the villages ol' Wcleze and
Xasiguewo, northwest of Wloclawek.
i The Germans in retreating abandoned
j at Makow many of their dead.
"In the course of tho day of Jaa
i uary 81 the enemy, after having con
! centrated in the region of Sochaczow,
Bolimovo and South of Bolimovo, a
j large force of artillery developed active
I operations against our positions with
j very considerable forces. The German
offensive was distinguished by great
! tenacity advancing iu close ranks
1 strongly supported from the rear.
"After having concentrated a vio
lent fire in the morning upou that re
gion, the fierceness of the German of
fensive compelled some of our units to
retire to the second line of trenches.
Russians Regain Trenches
"In the meanwhile a counter attack,
from another detachment of our forces
drove the enemy from all toe trenches
Continued on Fourth K'ntfr.
A RUMORED ZEPPELIN RAID ON
LONDON CAUSES WHEAT ALARM
London, Feb. 2, 3.30 A. M.—Noth
' ing further lias been heard up to this
j iiour of a Zeppelin raid, nor is thero
1 any confirmation of reports that Ger
! man submarines were seen yesterday in
j tho Irish sea between Holy Head and
I Dublin. Cross-channel service is still
| running and iit is considered there is
: 110 great danger for swift vessels.
There seemingly was no occasion for
alarm in London over a Zeppelin raid
I and the authorities have been unable
' to discover how the rumors arose that
j one was imminent.
Submarine Attacks Hospital Ship
Paris, Feb. 2, 2 P. M.—"A German
submarine yesterday made an unsuc
cessful attempt to torpedo the British
! hospital ship Asturias," according to a
1 communication given out to-day by the
Ministry of Marine.
LATE NEWS SUBIMftRY
The new German attack on the War
saw front has led to some of the heavi
est fighting of the war in the east thus
far. An official statement from Petro
grad to-day admits that the Germans
succeeded in carrying Russian trenches
in the region of Soichzew and Bolimow,
near the Vistula and about SO miles
west of Warsaw but states that the
German successes were of small Import
ance compared .with the losses they
sustained which are described as enor
mous. On the front less than a mile
long, more than «,000 Germans are said
to have been killed in a week. The Rus
sians charged the captured trenches
and Petrograd reports that they suc
ceeded in winning back a large part of
! them.
The battle for possession of Car
| pathian passes continues without defl
| nite success for either the Russians or
the Austrlans.
Winston Spencer Churchill, first lord
of the Admiralty, is quoted as having
, said that on account of England's con
trol of the seas, Germany was like a
man throttled with a heavy gag, and
jthat "the effort wears out the heart
! and Germany knows It.''
WALL S7 REBT CLOSING
New York, Feb. a.—Steel crossed
41 in the late dealings, which caused
some covering of short contracts in
the general list. Prices receded frac
tionally at the end. The close was
strong. Stocks ruled well above yes
terday's closing level for the better
part of to-day's session. U. S. Steel
was relatively the strongest of the
leading Issues.